White Pelican Villas taking shape at former Beachview Cottages site on SanibelWINK News Photos of the Week (3/21 – 3/27)
White Pelican Villas taking shape at former Beachview Cottages site on Sanibel Following Hurricane Ian, Tony Lapi faced a dilemma. He could either rebuild the resort in the same footprint as the 22 Beachview Cottages that were destroyed on Sanibel Island or move it farther back from the beach and construct something more resilient.
WINK News Photos of the Week (3/21 – 3/27) Welcome to WINK News Photos of the Week, where we highlight memorable moments from Southwest Florida throughout the week.
NORTH NAPLES Man accused of stealing over $15K worth of Pokémon cards in North Naples The Collier County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a man accused of stealing over $15,000 worth of Pokémon cards from a North Naples business.
Tim Aten Knows: Costco formally files plans for second store in Collier Less than two weeks after hundreds of residents packed a neighborhood information meeting to protest conceptual plans for a second location in Collier County, Costco Wholesale Corp. submitted formal development plans earlier this month for a new store proposed on the southeast corner of Collier Boulevard and Rattlesnake Hammock Road.
FORT MYERS Vietnam Traveling Wall comes to Southwest Florida A moving tribute to Vietnam veterans arrived in Southwest Florida.
12-year-old Lee County student arrested for making bomb threats at his school A 12-year-old student from Veterans Park Academy for the Arts was arrested on Thursday for making threats involving planting bombs around the school.
Motorcyclist critically injured following SUV crash on US-41 in Lee County The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating a crash involving a motorcycle and an SUV that critically injured one person on U.S. 41 in Lee County.
BOKEELIA Bokeelia home destroyed after early morning fire The Matlacha Pine Island Fire Control District is on the scene of a fire that broke out at a Bokeelia home.
THE WEATHER AUTHORITY Breezy with a few showers Friday afternoon and evening The Weather Authority is tracking a breezier Friday with a mix of sun and clouds, which may produce showers, impacting your evening plans.
ESTERO Estero Goodwill holds grand opening Lynn Watts, a longtime Goodwill shopper, found herself in the midst of the bustling scene.
SANIBEL Destroyed and distressed: properties on Sanibel facing code enforcement Sanibel, a city known for its resilience, is now facing challenges as some of its beloved landmarks remain in disrepair.
NAPLES Collier County first responders extinguish brush fire near golf course A brush fire in Collier County threatened the Tiburon Golf Club in Naples on Wednesday, but quick action from first responders helped prevent disaster.
Naples embraces new mobile gym for dogs A unique mobile gym for dogs is making waves in Naples, offering a convenient way for pets to exercise without leaving their homes.
EVERGLADES Florida sugar firms lose lawsuit; Everglades restoration moves forward The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the Army Corps, marking a significant victory for Everglades restoration efforts.
Charlotte County school start times may shift with new legislation A new bill passed by the Florida Senate could shift the power to officials in Charlotte County and elsewhere to decide school start times.
White Pelican Villas taking shape at former Beachview Cottages site on Sanibel Following Hurricane Ian, Tony Lapi faced a dilemma. He could either rebuild the resort in the same footprint as the 22 Beachview Cottages that were destroyed on Sanibel Island or move it farther back from the beach and construct something more resilient.
WINK News Photos of the Week (3/21 – 3/27) Welcome to WINK News Photos of the Week, where we highlight memorable moments from Southwest Florida throughout the week.
NORTH NAPLES Man accused of stealing over $15K worth of Pokémon cards in North Naples The Collier County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a man accused of stealing over $15,000 worth of Pokémon cards from a North Naples business.
Tim Aten Knows: Costco formally files plans for second store in Collier Less than two weeks after hundreds of residents packed a neighborhood information meeting to protest conceptual plans for a second location in Collier County, Costco Wholesale Corp. submitted formal development plans earlier this month for a new store proposed on the southeast corner of Collier Boulevard and Rattlesnake Hammock Road.
FORT MYERS Vietnam Traveling Wall comes to Southwest Florida A moving tribute to Vietnam veterans arrived in Southwest Florida.
12-year-old Lee County student arrested for making bomb threats at his school A 12-year-old student from Veterans Park Academy for the Arts was arrested on Thursday for making threats involving planting bombs around the school.
Motorcyclist critically injured following SUV crash on US-41 in Lee County The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating a crash involving a motorcycle and an SUV that critically injured one person on U.S. 41 in Lee County.
BOKEELIA Bokeelia home destroyed after early morning fire The Matlacha Pine Island Fire Control District is on the scene of a fire that broke out at a Bokeelia home.
THE WEATHER AUTHORITY Breezy with a few showers Friday afternoon and evening The Weather Authority is tracking a breezier Friday with a mix of sun and clouds, which may produce showers, impacting your evening plans.
ESTERO Estero Goodwill holds grand opening Lynn Watts, a longtime Goodwill shopper, found herself in the midst of the bustling scene.
SANIBEL Destroyed and distressed: properties on Sanibel facing code enforcement Sanibel, a city known for its resilience, is now facing challenges as some of its beloved landmarks remain in disrepair.
NAPLES Collier County first responders extinguish brush fire near golf course A brush fire in Collier County threatened the Tiburon Golf Club in Naples on Wednesday, but quick action from first responders helped prevent disaster.
Naples embraces new mobile gym for dogs A unique mobile gym for dogs is making waves in Naples, offering a convenient way for pets to exercise without leaving their homes.
EVERGLADES Florida sugar firms lose lawsuit; Everglades restoration moves forward The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the Army Corps, marking a significant victory for Everglades restoration efforts.
Charlotte County school start times may shift with new legislation A new bill passed by the Florida Senate could shift the power to officials in Charlotte County and elsewhere to decide school start times.
The beaches of Southwest Florida are a major attraction and a key reason why many visit or move to the area. But with hurricanes and natural beach erosion, sand renourishment is often necessary. But could the process of fixing our beaches do more harm than good? 10 miles off Sanibel, a sand dredging project is underway. Next to sand sediments kicked up from dredging, the Gulf is stained with orangish streaks of red tide. This is not dredging for Sanibel beaches. Sanibel trucks in sand from a mine in Moore Haven to replenish its beaches. In Collier County, Park Shore Beach sources its sand from a mine in Immokalee. Fort Myers Beach started its renourishment before Thanksgiving. The town started work on the South end in early February and hope to have all projects done in March. “For tourism, it’s huge. It’s our main industry in Florida. So we want to keep our beaches in good shape. You know, sand is always moving around and getting we will. You can see some parts of the beach where there’s basically no more beach,” said Chadd Chustz, environmental manager for the Town of Fort Myers Beach. But it’s more than maintenance, “also for the wildlife, if there’s no sand and then there’s no nesting habitat, and makes them difficult to recover from their threatened status,” added Chustz. The sand used to replenish Fort Myers Beach is dredged 1.5 miles off the island. 10 miles off Sanibel, is another dredging project for Lee County Beaches. While sand is dredged in the Gulf, red tide is running rampant. The question has been raised, what is their relationship? “Dredging can cause some direct and indirect effects. So when you’re dredging up the bottom sediments, that re-suspends nutrients and potential other pollutants that are in that layer down there on the bottom,” said John Cassani, Calusa Waterkeeper emeritus. Red tide is one of Southwest Florida’s original settlers, it’s natural but, “The frequency, duration, and severity that we’re seeing now in recent decades, is not natural,” said Cassani. Mike Parsons, a professor of marine science at Florida Gulf Coast University, has a different perspective on sand dredging and red tide. “There probably is not a strong relationship between the dredging and the blooms. The sediments can be a source of nutrients to feed red tide, but usually, sand doesn’t have that much nutrients in it,” Parsons said. But Parsons notes, there’s still a lot we don’t know. “It’s something that’s under studied, and it’s something that we probably need to get better numbers on so it’s possible, but I don’t, I don’t think in this case, because, you know, the hurricanes really mixed a lot of things up,” Parsons added. While we may not yet fully understand the relationship between red tide and dredging we know their relationships with our economy and tourism. Without the beaches, tourism drops, and with red tide on the beaches, tourism drops as well.